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MST3K 704 - The Incredible Melting Man
The Movie Synopsis "Steve", an astronaut, returns from a trip to Saturn in a disfigured state, "just a little bit radioactive" and in a bad mood. Upon returning to Earth, he is put up in the lovely and technologically advanced NASA hospital (which occupies stalls 28 through 48 at a Fresno California ministorage). After awakening, he flees with a Steadycam, killing a nurse (and he hasn't even gotten the bill yet!) and begins wandering around the area, dispatching his victims, his flesh rapidly deteriorating, An abrupt, "unearthly" general and a put-upon, whisper-thin, cracker-obsessed physician try to hunt him down while maintaining government secrecy. Because the movie is mostly about the wonders of spirit gum and latex, the tiny amount of plot-substitute parceled out at the beginning is fraught with errors, gaffes, and irresponsible use of stock footage. Our protagonist is ostensibly on a mission to Saturn, which is something around ten times the distance from the sun as the earth. Despite this, we are treated to images of a gigantic sun filling the viewport. You'll also note the conversation with 'Houston'--it's as though the real life lag of anywhere from 70 to 90 minutes doesn't even exist! You'll also enjoy seeing archival footage of the Apollo missions masquerading as exploration of the pitted and cratered surface of Saturn---wait--is that right? But don't worry, once the premise is established, we can get on with the goo. Much later, a tacked on bit of exposition provides the basis for the rampage, but frankly, it's so stupid and implausible that it really doesn't bear repeating. And that's about it. Also a general eats a turkey leg and old people steal lemons. Adjka! Information * Myron Healey, who played General Michael Perry, was also the handsome and heroic cop Mark Houston in The Unearthly. * This was one of Trace Beaulieu's least favorite movies on the show to date. * Contains early make-up special effects by Hollywood legend Rick Baker. * Despite the rights to the uncut film currently being licensed to Shout Factory Home Entertainment, there has yet to be a single official DVD copy of this episode version released. * The film was originally intended to be a parody of sci-fi b-movies and performed in a very straight-faced fashion so as to become a kind of black comedy. Roughly halfway through production, the producers decided to attempt to re-shape the movie into an actual horror film by demanding new scenes be shot and integrated into the work that had already been done. It is for this reason that so much of the dialog is purposefully awkward and out of tone with the rest of the movie, and many scenes are played for obvious laughs (the nurse being chased in the beginning, the scene with the elderly couple, the infamous ending of the melted creature being shoveled into a garbage can, etc.). The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Mike and the bots play a little baseball. Crow, the umpire, says, "Hiyreah!" repeatedly, and Mike keeps getting hit by balls thrown by Servo. Segment One: Mike's jaw was injured in the fight with Servo. Crow's Earth vs. Soup screenplay is being made into a movie, with Dr. F and Pearl in charge of the money. Crow says he will stand by his script, but he immediately gives in to Pearl's demands. Segment Two: Dr. F and Pearl take a very expensive (and ultimately pointless) shuttle ride to the SOL for a script conference. Mike tears the centers out of bagels at Crow's command; Crow leaves leaves to get Pellegrinos and the conference goes on without him. Lots of confusion abounds with the script revisions. The Forresters leave just before Crow returns, and he learns that he has missed the entire meeting. Segment Three: Crow directs his movie, which features Mike as Kevin Bacon and Gypsy as his love interest. Judy (actually Servo) helps as the assistant director. Crow gets two takes of the only scene before Movie Sign because he is so carried away with his new director's scarf. Segment Four: Dr. F leads a focus group for Earth vs. Soup: The Movie. None of them liked the film; they didn't like the plot, it was too short, and it should have been potato soup. Segment Five: Upon learning the fate of his movie, Crow flips out: "I come to you with a movie, you supposedly get me $30 million to make it, you take 29.5 million for yourself, I get a lousy $800, I don't get any credit, and my movie's released as a trailer!?!" Stinger: Dr. Ted Nelson’s weird old mother-in-law says, "Let’s get the hell out of here!" Other Notes Guest Stars *''Gary'': Jim Mallon *''Doug'': Paul Chaplin *''Cindy'': Beth McKeever *''Tony'': Ben Mooers *''Other Focus Group Members'': Barbara Tebben, Helena Espinosa, Kelly Schrant Miscellaneous *The host segments in this episode are based on the Brains own experiences bringing Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie to the big screen. Obscure References *''"Wanna talk to Maude Frickert?"'' A reference to comedian Jonathan Winters (who General Perry bears more than a passing resemblance to), in particular, his character "Maude Frickert", an old woman in a "Whistler's Mother" black dress and gray wig who was possessed of a wicked tongue. *''"We saved Kuwait again!"'' As Iraqi forces retreated from Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War, they set fire to well over 600 oil wells , resulitng in one of the worst environmental disasters of all time. *''"Edie Sedgwick, NOOOO!!!"'' Edie Sedgwick, who appeared in several films directed by Andy Warhol, was severely burned in 1966 after falling asleep with a lit cigarette. * "The Russians! Hey, Giorgy!" A reference to an SCTV sketch about a Russian sitcom called "Hey, Giorgy!". * "I just realized- I'm LeRoy Neiman!" A reference to commercially successful artist LeRoy Neiman. In MST's The Screaming Skull, the Brains suggested that incineration was the most appropriate fate for his creative output. * Windows 95 references The fisherman looks like Bill Gates, whose company Microsoft had recently released the Windows 95 operating system. * "NASA's a sucker for any Very Large Array salesman!" A reference to the Very Large Array, an installation of radio astronomy dishes located in New Mexico. * "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day / To the last syllable of recorded time..." A line from scene 5 of Hamlet. * "I’m gonna squeeze one of oranges and let the juice run down my body!" A reference to the 1980 film Atlantic City, which starred Susan Sarandon, and featured a scene where she squeezed the juice from lemons over her naked body. *''"Don't talk about the baby, Martha."'' ''A recurring line from ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. ''Except they say "the boy", not "the baby" in the film. * ''"Ted Nelson was found alive, and of normal size. There was no melting man." A reference to the absolutely incomprehensible ending of Monster a Go-Go. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 7 Category:70s Movie Category:Unreleased Episodes Category:R-rated movies Category:Episodes directed by Kevin Murphy